


Darkness and Isolation

by marty_mcfly_jr



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon rubmelle, F/M, Hurt No Comfort, Stockholm Syndrom, This is NOT a happy Rumbelle story, very anti zelena
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2019-10-25 16:00:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17728331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marty_mcfly_jr/pseuds/marty_mcfly_jr
Summary: What happens when the dark one can be controlled by one of the "heroes""I can give you nothing but darkness and isolation," Rumple tried to protect Cora from his dark curse. But even the dark one could not imagine THIS much darkness...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Other characters in italics. Rumple's story in regular.

**********  
******  
***

_"Emma!"_

_Emma jumped and spun around completely shocked. That voice belonged to Hook. She was at the cemetery. They had just buried Robin Hood_.

_"Hook?" How could that be?_

__

_"Emma, I was brought back," Hook said happily, "Zeus let me because I helped him with something!"_

__

_Emma just kept staring_.

__

_Hook approached her, "I am a hero, even in the underworld!"_

__

_And then he started kissing her. She kissed back out of habit, but her heart was not into it at all._

__

_Emma couldn't help thinking about Regina and Robin a few inches away. She detached her lips from Hook's and started running. She wasn't sure why she was running or where she was running to. She just ran and ran, blindly, without stopping and without thinking._

__

_No thinking. She could not think. She would not allow herself to think any thoughts at all. No, she was not confused, she was not scared, she was not angry, she was not sad, she was just running_.

__

_She ran until her lungs were raw and her throat was dry and her legs felt like rubber. When she finally collapsed from exhaustion, she found herself hugging a headstone for balance. She was holding onto Neal's headstone. When she realized where she was she just couldn't continue to suppress her feelings any longer. She let out a sob so broken, that it felt like she was sinking right into the ground to be with the man, she finally admitted to herself, was her one true love_.

__

_Emma could not stop, for hours, she stayed by the grave and continued crying long after the sun has set and most of Storybrooke's residents were sleeping_.

__

_After a while the entire town was talking about Hook's return and Emma's reaction. No one was able to find her. At night, they all gave up and decided to let her calm down. Hook reassured everyone that she was capable of taking care of herself, and that she was probably just so thrilled that he was back._

__

_"She will come back to me very soon," he nodded haughtily, "She just needs time to get over the surprise."_

__

_Everyone went to sleep happy that night, knowing that Emma finally got what she wanted. They were happy for her that her boyfriend was back so unexpectedly, and they knew that better times were coming._

__

_While that town was calmly asleep, however, darkness was seeping in. the portal that allowed Hook into the land of the living was left open and the people of Storybrooke along with every realm in existence - even the land without magic - were going to face the darkest, most dangerous times in the history of the universe._

__

*******  
****  
***

Rumple woke up early, kissed Belle lightly without waking her, and left the house with a bouquet of flowers. He did this every morning before the town woke up. The drama happening at the town never interested him. So Hook was back and Emma freaked, big deal. He went on with his daily activities as usual, unless approached by one of the townspeople demanding his help with something.

So why was he feeling such a doom this morning? He felt as if a car was zooming right at him in full speed. He could not understand how yesterday's events could leave him with such foreboding.

He approached his son's grave and sat down by the headstone placing the flowers carefully by his name. Neal, they wrote, the name he chose for himself because his father abandoned him, Gold thought with a squeeze to his heart. Silent tears were pouring out of his eyes as he thought about the little time he had with his child. How he missed him! How he wished he could have given him that chance at happiness he wanted for him!

"Oh Bae," he sobbed. Why did he resurrect me? The question was echoing in his brain every day since Bae died, He could have lived and been happy…

***********  
*****_  
***

_Henry slept at his mom's mansion, if laying in bed wide awake is considered "sleeping". He knew something was up when Regina came to pick him up from school instead of his other mom Emma. From what he gleaned out of the hushed gossip, it seemed that Hook somehow came back from the dead and his mom did not receive the news as everyone had expected. Now everyone was looking for his mom Emma while he was tucked safely in with his other mom so he wouldn't be involved._

_Henry kept dozing off just to jump awake from confused dreams about his moms and Hook and Robin Hood and his dad. Sometime in the middle of the night he jerked awake feeling something very sinister in the air. He got out of bed and looked out of the window. He thought he saw a hooded man appear out of nowhere. This man looked strange and suspicious. Suddenly another figure appeared, a woman, also looking creepy. As he kept looking, people poped out of nowhere just to walk off and disappear into the dark street. Was he sleeping? Was this a dream? Henry was so tired from his sleepless night that he wasn't quite sure._

_He walked dazedly towards the door to wake his mom and the next thing he knew, he had jerked awake again, and a faint dawn light was coming in from the window along with the chirping of birds. Henry was not sure if what he saw from his window was real, but he suddenly had an idea where he could find his mom Emma._

* ***********  
*******  
***

"Mr Gold?" Henry sneaked out of the house and came to the cemetery hoping he could find his mom, and instead he saw his grandfather, face wet with tears.

When Gold saw Henry he quickly turned away and wiped his tears, but he was too late.

"I'll go…" Henry said.

"No, no, I was just leaving, Henry," Gold said getting up from the ground and hurrying away. He hoped that Henry didn't see the tears on his face before or at least didn't notice.

Henry looked hesitant, so Gold continued, "I have to get back to Belle and then open my shop. I will see you around, Henry."

Gold turned to leave, but just as he turned away from Henry there was a sudden loud clap of thunder and he heard Henry yelp.

Henry was surrounded by a whirlpool of what looked like an electric current but felt a lot more sinister than that. as Rumple watched in horror, Henry was fading into the current; he was becoming the current! It looked as if Henry was being turned into strips of something that were swirling around him.

Gold kept trying to grab for Henry but as the seconds ticked by he was less approachable. Gold knew exactly why he was unable to help Henry, and he drew out his dagger and put it down on the ground. instantly, he was able to grip Henry and stop the terrifying torrent that was tearing Henry apart. Holding Henry's limp body, Gold healed the burns and gashes that whatever-that-was peeled away from his body, and when Henry looked like he was healed, and breathing evenly, sleeping, he poofed Henry to Regina's mansion where he landed safely on his own bed.

"Henry will probably not remember any of it, it will feel like a nightmare." Rumple thought, his heart beating fast. He hoped this wouldn't traumatize the child. "He will wake up and Regina will soothe him. everything will be OK."

Rumple looked around to retrieve the dark dagger from the ground and to his horror, he could not find it. and then everything happened at once. he heard a familiar laugh, felt that familiar tug of command to "stay put!" and he saw Zelena approaching him triumphantly.

Rumple saw black spots swimming in front of his eyes, his ears were ringing, his legs turned to jelly and he fell to his knees. He held onto the ground with sweaty palms, his mind screaming in protest as Zelena leisurely walked closer to him. he couldn't escape because he was commanded to stay where he was and there was no overriding the control of the dagger.

When she reached him and gently caressed his hair he felt his world collapse around him. He knew that this was the end of his rope. his soul would never survive her torture again. He may keep living, because the dark one never dies, but he will no longer be.

"Please..." he found his voice and it was horse with terror, "kill me," he begged, "please."

She laughed lightly and stroked the back of his neck, sending shivers of repulsion down his spine. "It will be different this time," she said softly, "I will not lock you in a cage. I am a hero now, didn't you notice? I changed."

Rumple did not seem to hear what she was saying. He was cracking with hysteria from the subjugation she forced on him. "Look at me," she commanded.

Rumple could hear her talk but it took him too long to process the sounds she was making and form them into words that can be understood by his brain. His body obeyed before his mind could comprehend the command, and he looked at her with wide, fearful eyes, struck dumb, as she continued talking to him.

"No one must know that I am holding the dagger. You may not tell anyone. You will be free to do what you want, you can use magic, but never against me. You can stay with your Belle for as long as she still wants you. The only thing I expect from you is that every Tuesday night you will come to my house and we will begin working on creating a baby."

She paused for a long moment, because the words she was speaking did not sink in right away. When what she had commanded finally hit him, his eyes went round and he shook his head frantically, unable to make a sound even though his mouth was open.

"Don't worry," she said soothingly, "it won't hurt this time. We will just focus on the baby-making. It will be like a job. I will see you this Tuesday."

*************.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Don't worry," she said soothingly, "it won't hurt this time. We will just focus on the baby-making. It will be like a job. I will see you this Tuesday."_

She was still holding the dagger when she left him, a shivering mess of nerves. It took him hours before he was coherent enough to pull himself together and slink off to his house.

By the time Belle came home from the library, he had showered and dressed in his best suit; his mask was secure.

"Where were you today," Belle asked, "Why were you not in the shop?"

"Oh, I had business elsewhere today," he replied nonchalantly, "Sorry I didn't let you know in advance. In fact, this business transaction will need to be signed this Tuesday night."

He walked over to Belle hugging her, "how was your day, today, Belle?"

Belle took his hand and brought it down to her belly, "I was a bit nauseous, as usual, and I missed you."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that,  Belle, next time I will make sure to tell you everything." He couldn't believe how smoothly he was lying to his beloved wife.

"I made some dinner, Belle, it's in the kitchen," he excused himself and hurried into the bathroom.

Holding onto the wall he allowed himself a few minutes to take his mask off. breathing in, out, in, out,  he tried to calm himself.

Zelena said it will not hurt this time. Even if he believed her, it was not the pain he feared. Just the thought of being in the same room with her was enough to throw him into a frenzy. The thought of her carrying his child was even worse.

Outside of this panic room, Belle was setting the table for dinner, so happy and excited about having a baby. He didn't think he would ever tell her that he used magic on himself to never be able to have another child. He did that in a panic, a few hours after Zelena left him in a puddle of anxiety on the cemetery ground. What else should he have done? Zelena specifically commanded him not to use any magic on _her_. His first choice would have been to use magic to make sure that Zelena couldn't ever have any children.

"Rumple?" Belle was calling him.

Gold composed himself and sat for dinner with his wife. He steered the conversation away from children and family and their new baby which was coming in a few months. They spoke about the new book that came out and the happenings in Storybrooke.

"Can you believe how Emma reacted to Hook's return," Belle marveled.

Gold shrugged. "I don't know if Hook's return is a good thing," he said, "I think it bought darkness into town."

"Oh, I doubt it," Belle said, "You came back and no darkness came in with you."

"No," he said sounding more bitter than he meant to, "But it wasn't worth the price."

Belle looked at him and took his hand in her own, "I'm so sorry."

"Nothing is for free, Belle," Rumple sighed.

After Belle cleared the table and Rumple washed the dishes, they usually both curled up on the couch reading their favorite book. Rumple held his book, and mechanically opened it to his place. When he looked at the words on the page, all he saw was darkness.

Rumple looked over at Belle reading comfortably in her cozy corner smirking appreciatively at the prose in front of her. She looked up, feeling his eyes on her and patted the space right next to her inviting him to cuddle up with her. He moved to her greatfully, and they sat side by side wrapped around each other. He needed Belle to hold him; to keep him from falling apart.

The window was open and a sudden breeze entered the living room, and suddenly Rumple had an acute sense of forboding. something came in with the breeze and it felt sinister and dark. Belle looked at him, startled by his reaction, for he leaped up from their couch in sudden inexplicable fear.

"What was that," she whispered.

Rumple thought that he should not cause Belle unnecessary stress, since she was pregnant. He thought that maybe he was just being jumpy and there wasn't really anything to worry about.

_Just then, on the other side of town, something was peeling a little girl like a potato. There was something to worry about after all._

***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

_"There's someone or something going around and ripping people into shreds!" Emma was on the phone with Regina, after Gretel 's father was taken into the hospital for shock treatments. She told Regina about her morning, her eyes round and her voice shaking._

_"What do we do?" Regina sounded very shaken._

_I think we should take Henry to Dr. Hopper. I heard he could work with hypnosis and some people retrieve memories..."_

_A few hours later, Emma and Regina were in Dr. Hopper's with Henry._

_"Nothing." Henry sighed._

_"You are not relaxed, Henry," Dr. Hopper coaxed him, "go back to the night before. You said you couldn't sleep."_

__"It's hard to distinguish between what was real and what was a dream. I was so tired that night."_ _

__"Aha," said Archie, "but we can be sure that what happened in the morning was not a dream, right?"_ _

__"I guess," Henry said._ _

__Regina and Emma were dissatisfied with the session. "What did Henry remember, nothing? A whole hour and nothing?" Regina sneered._ _

__"It takes time," Archie explained. "Let's try to see next week."_ _

__"How about tomorrow?" Emma wasn't going to wait a whole week._  
_"We can have daily sessions," Archie agreed._ _

_******************************************************  
******************************************************_

__

As Tuesday approached Rumplestiltskin was getting more and more desperate. He has been trying to talk Belle into leaving town with him, but she wouldn't hear of it.

"just when they need us the most?" Belle scolded.

"Who?" Rumple asked indigently, "who needs us?"

But Belle remained adamant. They were not moving.

Tuesday morning, Rumple informed Belle that he was leaving Storybrooke, and if she won't join him, he will go alone.

"Goodbye, Belle," he said as he entered his car. He could not hear her protests anymore. He was becoming deaf with urgency. "If you want to follow me, I will have my cellphone. I will tell you where to find me." And he drove off.

As he approached the town line, Rumple felt a tug. he tried to ignore it and keep driving, but the tug got worse, and the car stopped moving. He got out and walked towards the town line, but walking was even harder than driving. There was an invisible barrier that he simply couldn't penetrate. Rumple screamed in frustration and got back into the car pressing hard on the gas, but it was like being buried in ice. The car simply did not move.

He kept trying everything: he went out of the car, and back into it, his panic escalating into a full blown nervous break down. Eventually, he turned the car and drove home with a sinking realization that there was no escape for him. He will have to go to Zelena.


	3. Chapter 3

That night Rumple was quietly falling apart on Zelena's doorstep. He tried not to go, but eventually, he was dragged there by the power of the dagger. He was able to stop himself from following her commands, but only for as long as a human could hold his breath. When his mind tried to stop his body from doing as he was told, his involuntary muscles took over and he found himself following every command, even if it crushed his mind and heart to do it.

Zelena opened the door, all made up, wearing her best dress, and smelling of perfume, He tried not to gag as he walked in and presented her with the proposal that he hoped she'll accept.

"Zelena," he tried not to sound too desperate, and to keep his voice from shaking, "how about we go to a fertility doctor and do what needs to be done without... without...."

Zelena cut him off with a whip of the dagger and an angry look.

"We will have a child the natural way," she hissed advancing towards him, "and you will be here every Tuesday until that happens. After that, you will come to me willingly, because I will be all you have left."

Rumple was tittering on the verge of hysteria again, as Zelena ran her fingers through his hair. His mind backing away from her, but his body leaning into her touch as commanded.

Anyone who would happen to glimpse Rumple and Zelena's lovemaking would be sure they were characters in a cheap romance novel. It was so nauseating that the author is too disgusted to describe it.

By the end of the night, Rumple was a sniveling mess.

"Do you always cry when you lay with a woman?" Zelena teased. "I know you enjoyed it," she said as he caressed her with one hand and held her with the other, "or do you miss the old times when you screamed in agony? Today was so much more pleasant, wasn't it?"

He closed his eyes. He truly didn't know what was worse. She kissed him and he leaned in to kiss her back, bile rising in his throat. "Please, let me go home now, " he begged for the millionth time that night.

Zelena finally commanded him to go after petting his head and telling him to be back the following week.

****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

_Emma and Regina were in Dr. Hopper's office._

_"We were working on remembering faces and Henry remembers seeing Mr. Gold right before it happened. "_

_"Really?"_

_Regina and Emma were at Gold's doorstep before Archie could say 'good evening'._

_Belle immediately opened the door at the first knock._

_"Where's Gold?" Emma asked accusingly._

_Belle let them in politely and told them that he had some business to attend to._

_"What kind of business?"_

_"I'm not sure," Belle said, ashamed that she didn't ask, "he needs to sign a transaction of some sort."_

_"When will he be back," Regina asked._

_"Probably soon."_

__"Did he mention something to you about a strange thing that happened to Henry?"_ _

__"No, he never said anything." Belle answered._ _

__They waited with Belle for an hour, filling her in on the goings on and then waited another long hour._ _

__Belle tried to call him a few times but his cellphone was going straight to voice mail._ _


	4. Chapter 4

Rumple was so shaken, after leaving Zelena's house, he completely forgot that he could use magic. He wanted to just run from there as fast as possible, but he couldn't even stand up because Zelena thought it was romantic to burn his cane in the fireplace.

He felt that he must put as much distance between himself and Zelena, as soon as possible, even if he would have to crawl the whole way home. He found a thin branch to use as a cane, but after managing to limp frantically for a few blocks, it snapped and he fell. Crawling helplessly, he gagged and vomited. He felt too weak and dizzy to move, and when he tried to stand up he couldn't, and the effort caused him to throw up some more until he passed out.

"Hey, were you drinking?" Will Scarlet found Mr. Gold on the ground the next morning. "Hey," he called and kicked him on the side, "hey, get up!"

Rumple made an effort to pick himself up and turned to head home when Will stopped him.

"You go party all night by yourself, because Belle can't drink?"

"Keep your nose out of my business," he retorted, and suddenly, he saw behind Will a swirling dark cloud descending on a small child. Without thinking, he blasted the cloud with a powerful zap of magic and the cloud exploded inches from the child's face.

Will was horrified. "whoa," he screamed, "whoa, were you trying to kill me? Because I wasn't afraid to tell you off for being a lousy husband?" Gold ignored Will and poofed away. 

"You missed," Will hollered at the spot Rumple disappeared from, "you missed and you almost killed this little kid!"

Rumple managed to drag himself towards home, when he suddenly felt too ashamed to face his wife. He decided to go to his shop first. He didn't want Belle to see him looking the way he did. He showered and dressed and found another cane before he remembered to turn his phone on.


	5. Chapter 5

He had fifty four missed calls from Belle. 

She will never be satisfied with a vague excuse for not coming home until morning. He cursed himself for being so stupid. Why didn't he poof home right away last night? Why did he forget that his usual means of transportation was poofing away? Why did he not use magic to run from Zelena's house, instead of limping away like an abused puppy? 

All of the painful feelings of the night before turned into anger. He was angry at Will, angry at Henry, he was even angry at Belle. But more than anything he was angry at himself for behaving like such a useless coward. Even with all of his power and magic, he was nothing but a wretched wimp.

Why? Why couldn't he just poof to his shop twelve hours before, taken the same shower and the same new cane? Belle would've never suspected a thing.

Now he would have to face her after not answering fifty four calls.

He reached his house and sneaked quietly inside. Belle was sleeping on the chair looking disheveled. She woke up jumping before he could steal past her. 

"Where WERE you?!*

""Look, I can explain," he stammered.

"Explain what." Belle stomped towards him taking in his newly showered, pristine appearance, "I can't WAIT to hear that explanation."

Rumple opened his mouth to start explaining when he suddenly felt too ashamed to lie to her. He saw how her night's worry transformed into this anger at him. His own anger has dissipated at seeing her sleeping on the chair. He was just so tired, his bones were hurting from exhaustion. He wanted to go to bed and never wake up.

"I'm sorry, Belle," he said looking at his shoes, "I shouldn't have shut off my phone. I was selfish and inconsiderate. Belle, can you forgive me this time? Please? I will do anything for you."

"Yeah, anything except tell me where you were. What were you doing the whole night?"

"Please, Belle, how can I make it up to you?" He reached for her cheek, but she turned away. His fingers brushing the empty air. 

"You can't." She said and started walking to the bedroom, "you've hurt me too many times."

Tears were forming in his eyes as he followed her. He wished he could tell her, or at least give her a hint.

"I love you, Belle," he said desperately trying to make her understand, "I would never hurt you..."

Belle held the doorknob to the bedroom and turned to him.

"Where. Were. You. Last. Night?" 

"I was conducting a business transaction," he lied, griped with shame, "I was selling property."

"Right," she said slamming the door on his face. 

"Please, Belle," he cried, brushing the door with his palm as wetness escaped from his eye, "I need you," he whispered.

He needed her to hold his hand. He was so scared. He felt so alone. "Belle," he whispered again, knowing she could not hear him.

He felt so drained, that his arms felt suddenly too heavy and his head felt like it was filled with lead. He just wanted a blanket to cover the shame he felt. He almost crumbled to the floor right by the door, but he forced himself to stagger away. He didn't want his trashy bag of bones blocking Belle's way when she opened the door. He has hurt her more than enough, and she was throwing him out of their house with her bitter words. 

He collapsed on the cot in the back of his shop, a sob tangled in his chest, but before he could allow it to escape, the bell on his shop door rang. Someone needed something from him. He stood up, adjusting his mask, and opened the curtain angrily, to greet his customer.


	6. Chapter 6

Belle Opened the library late that morning. There was an unusual amount of readers already sitting outside the library when she arrived. She greeted all of them graciously and helped them find what they wanted. 

One of the patrons was Zelena. She asked Belle how she was doing and Belle gave her a weak smile. 

"I had a rough night," she said.

Zelena gave her a friendly hug and asked what happened. 

Belle and Zelena had become friends over the past few days, when it was obvious that Zelena was one of the heroes. 

Everyone seemed to trust her more and she was always so, so _nice_ to Belle.

With Zelena's enthusiastic encouragement, Belle started confiding in Zelena every detail of her relationship with the dark one. Zelena truly wanted to become a better person, and who better than Belle could help her understand the inner workings of a monster?

"Rumple was not home last night,  
And he didn't answer my calls until the morning when he came waltzing home like nothing happened. I was so worried!"

"Aw, poor you!" Zelena crooned delicately, 

"and there I thought he'd reformed..." Belle moaned.

"Well," zelena said carefully, putting an arm around Belle, "it was very inconsiderate of him, but, do you think he did anything _dark_."

"I don't know..."

"I'll tell you what, I have a potion that if you drink it by the full moon," Zelena rummaged in her bag and graciously handed her a small bottle, "you get a really deep sleep and in that sleep many secrets are revealed. You can try it." 

Belle agreed to try. What's the harm in revealing secrets? The full moon will occur in about two or three weeks.

"Meanwhile, let's talk about more interesting things," Zelena said her eyes dilated with anticipation, making Belle laugh.

Belle knew what Zelena wanted to talk about. Belle complied, giving Zelena all the details about her married life. 

_That morning another little child was lost to that terrifying dark cloud. Emma, along with everyone in town were beginning to lose hope of ever putting a stop to it._

_Children were afraid to go out of the house and parents were screamimg and yelling at the sheriff, the mayor, and anyone who should have had the power to stop these episodes._

*****************************************

Rumple composed himself as a man he recognized as Hansel and Gretel's father stormed into his shop.

"What happened to my daughter?!" He demanded.

"What happened," Rumple asked, genuinely wanting to know.

"Don't pretend you don't know! A cloud of darkness consumed her! She's, She's..." The man tried to hold back his tears unsuccessfully, "I think she's she's..." he couldn't form the words. He couldn't say that his daughter might be dead. 

Rumple's heart squeezed with pain for that poor man. He felt the same way about his son. He hoped that Gretel was not dead, that there would be a way for him to save her.

"Tell me exactly what happened," he said to her father.

"A cloud engulfed her! She is nothing but strips of- of her whole body is in strips! She was whirling and now there are just long strips..." he choked up on his words.

Nothing could be done. The poor child was dead, Rumple knew. "I'm sorry," he said shaking his head. 

"What do you mean!"

"There's nothing anyone can do now," he said regretfully.

The father refused to believe him and let out a string of curses and insults and demands, "you know! You're the dark one! You know what it is! Its dark! You're the Dark One, DO something!"

Mr. Gold just shook his head, "there's nothing I can do."

After a few long minutes of yelling at Mr. Gold in anger and grief, the father left the shop cursing and weeping. Gold was left in his shop wrapped in a cold, harsh feeling of dread and fear.

He flipped his phone open to call Belle. He needed to hear her voice. He wanted to confirm that she was safe, and he also needed her to feel somewhat safe himself. 

Belle picked up her phone after the first ring, and sounded like her old self. After talking to Zelena all about her intimate moments with her husband she felt that she missed him and couldn't wait to go home and be with him again. 

A small flicker of hope lit inside Rumple's broken soul, when he saw that she forgave him, and he, also, couldn't wait to go home to Belle.


	7. Chapter 7

Rumple put the phone down and took out some old dusty books he kept in his shop. He has not read these books in ages. These were books about the Dark One lore that he read centuries ago, in hopes of ending his curse. It’s how he knew that if he stabbed himself along with another person, he could end the darkness. He also knew about the book with the key to the vault. He tried to destroy that book years ago. He didn’t want anyone resurrecting him if he managed to end the darkness. As hard as he tried, though, the book could not be destroyed, so he hid it. He still doesn’t know how Zelena found it.

The week passed too quickly. Before Rumple could reread all the books, it was Tuesday again, and he found himself at Zelena’s door. He left his phone on this time.

While Rumple was trying to survive in Zelena’s room, a baby was fussing in the other room. Rumple hoped that. Zelena will let him go and attend to her child, but she laughed, “Roland will take care of her,”

At the end of the night, after she left him feeling exposed and violated, she finally let him go. He barely got a chance to leave when they heard a screech from the next room. Rumple jumped to the other room, to check one the kids, and before he reacted to the horrible scene before him, Zelena Screamed. A dark cloud was attacking the baby while Roland was standing by, helpless and terrified.

“Do something!” Zelena shrieked unneccarily, because he was already standing by the baby trying to stop the black cloud from peeling the child’s skin off. He managed to freeze it, but hard as he tried, he couldn’t reverse it the way he did for Henry.

“Drop the dagger,” he said with urgency, “I won’t be able to save her like this.”

“No!” Zelena said srhilly, and took the dagger out from her belt.

He gritted his teeth and groaned, “it’s not possible. Not while you’re holding the dagger. This is why I dropped it, to counter what was happeneing to Henry.”

“No!” She yelled again and commanded him to fix her and Robin’s baby as he did Henry.

He looked at her. She didn’t budge.

“You have a choice now. Your child, or the dagger.”

She held the dagger tighter.

“How about you put the dagger somewhere with and enchantment so I won’t be able to take it.” Rumple tried. He realized that Zelena was not going to let go of his servitude to her.

Zelena zapped him with pain-inducing magic in answer, throwing him to his knees.

She yelled at Roland, as if it was his fault that his sister is unconscious and left the house to “air out”

Rumple, picking himself up, and adjusting himself to grow accustomed to his new pain-filled state, looked at Roland. He noticed dark circles around the boy’s eyes. He looked more closely and saw bruises that testified that in the absence of his papa, Roland’s life was very unpleasant.

“Do you have any letter or any scripts in your father’s handwriting?” Rumple asked Roland.

Roland showed him an envelope he kept with a letter that his father wrote to Regina.

Rumple waved his hand over the letter and the words changed.

The letter now read: Dear Regina,

In case ai die for some reason or another in this dangerous world, please adopt my son Roland. I trust no one but you with him.

Love, Robin Hood.

Rumple gave the envelope with the letter back to Roland and told him to go to Regina and give it to her.

“Your father wanted her to have this letter. Go now. Go give her your father’s letter.”

“I’m scared,” Roland said.

“Regina is strong, she can protect you. Don’t be afraid,” Rumple said, “and I will do whatever I can to help your sister.”


End file.
